The Torah as a Living Testimony to all the World, פרשת בא, Parashat Bo, Bits of Torah Truths

In this week’s Torah portion, Moshe says to the people in Shemot / Exodus 13:3 “… ‘Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.” (NASB, ג וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-הָעָם זָכוֹר אֶת-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר יְצָאתֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיא יְהוָֹה אֶתְכֶם מִזֶּה וְלֹא יֵאָכֵל חָמֵץ:) Moshe explains how important the deliverance of the Lord is being set free from slavery by God’s powerful hand. He couples this to not eating anything with leaven. The deliverance of Israel was so important, the Lord God designated this as the beginning of months (the biblical new year) and designed an entire week of celebration around the festival of Passover. The idea of the deliverance of God and avoiding leaven has deep spiritual meaning. The reason this is so significant is because the departure of Israel from slavery in Egypt is symbolic of an individual leaving the slavery of a sinful life. In Romans 6:17-18 Paul explains: “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” This principle of leaven (chametz) is explained by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 when he said, “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Paul speaks of leaven, the Passover, and the deliverance of God to righteousness. This moment is so important, Rashi states, on Shemot / Exodus 13:3 Part 1, “זכור את היום הזה REMEMBER THIS DAY — This teaches that one must make mention of the Exodus from Egypt every day (Mekhilta d’Rabbi Yishmael 13:3; cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 27:9).” Rashi states that we are to remember this day and doing so by mentioning the exodus from Egypt every day to our family. Moshe wrote in Devarim / Deuteronomy 16:3 ‘You shall not eat leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), so that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. (NASB, ג לֹא-תֹאכַל עָלָיו חָמֵץ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תֹּאכַל-עָלָיו מַצּוֹת לֶחֶם עֹנִי כִּי בְחִפָּזוֹן יָצָאתָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לְמַעַן תִּזְכֹּר אֶת-יוֹם צֵאתְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ:) Here Moshe calls the unleavened bread the bread of affliction. This is described in Devarim / Deuteronomy 27:9 “On this day you have become a nation,” on which Rashi explains, “Every day should be to you as if today you entered the covenant.” Moshe wrote, כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיא יְהוָֹה אֶתְכֶם מִזֶּה וְלֹא יֵאָכֵל חָמֵץ for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. (NASB) connecting not eating chametz with the “strong hand” in which the Lord God delivered His people. What we are seeing here is how the strength of God’s hand, the presence and the power of God, is connected to chametz or sin. We also know how eating something is a Hebraic way of describing taking something into our lives and making it a part of our lives. Sin should not be a daily part of our lives. Here the power of God is described as having delivered the people, and then the command not to eat chametz is a parallel to seeing how the Lord has delivered us from the bondage of sin, now we should not practice sin in our lives because the Lord has brought us out and delivered us. Rabbeinu Bahya on Shemot / Exodus 13:3 Part 1-2 states the interpretation of this association (the power of God to eating chametz) to be connected to God’s justice and bringing glory to His name in exacting justice for His people in the downfall of Egypt. We do not place our faith in justice, but in the Lord God Almighty who brings justice for His people. Rabbeinu Bahya concludes saying the connecting of chametz with the strong hand of God is “To remind us of this for all future time, the consumption of חמץ (chametz)is forbidden on these seven days on which we commemorate the Exodus and the fact that it involved the downfall of our oppressors. This is the mystical dimension of the prohibition of eating חמץ. This explains why the Torah reserves the karet (‘excision’) penalty for anyone who deliberately violates this commandment. Eating חמץ on Passover is equivalent to a serious act of heresy, denial of Jewish history; as such the person who does so has read himself out of his people, so to speak. This is why G’d removes him (such a person) from the Jewish people at death, (12:15) as this is in compliance with the sinner’s wishes.” Considering all of these things, this has a very significant implication, the Lord God connects the glory of His presence to righteousness, justice, and working powerfully through the miracle of deliverance. Sin has the opposite effect of driving God’s presence from His people. If we join the practice of sin to God’s deliverance, this is an act of heresy, denial of history, and functions as a way to opt himself out of the family of God. In light of the modern day heresies we hear of today in the broad acceptance of the LGBT lifestyle, this teaching reveals to us the narrow nature of faith and righteousness according to God’s Word!

Shemot / Exodus 13:1-1613:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13:2 ‘Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.’ 13:3 Moses said to the people, ‘Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. 13:4 ‘On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go forth. 13:5 ‘It shall be when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall observe this rite in this month. 13:6 ‘For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 13:7 ‘Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. 13:8 ‘You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 13:9 ‘And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 13:10 ‘Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year. 13:11 ‘Now when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, 13:12 you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord. 13:13 ‘But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 13:14 ‘And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 13:15 ‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 13:16 ‘So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.’ (NASB)

Contained within the promises of God, the people of Israel had the expectation of being brought into a land flowing with milk and honey, the land of Canaan which God had given to Abraham and all of his descendents. Rashi states this in the following way:

Rashi on Shemot / Exodus 13:5 Part 2נשבע לאבתיך WHICH HE SWORE UNTO THY FATHERS — In the case of Abraham it says, (Genesis 15:18) “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram [saying, To thy seed I will give this land]”; in the case of Isaac it says, (Genesis 26:3) “Sojourn in this land … [for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries]”; and in the case of Jacob it says, (Genesis 28:13) “the land wheron thou liest [to thee will I give it and to thy seed]” (Mekhilta d’Rabbi Yishmael 13:5:4).

Rashi reiterates the promise the Lord God had made to Abraham of being a blessing to all nations. Abraham sojourned in the land, and God had promised to give all of these countries to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all of their descendents. Here Canaan is a reference to the seven nations (see Rashi on Shemot / Exodus 13:5 Part 1). This may also be used as a reference to all nations, every peoples, with God’s people, after having been saved (delivered) out of slavery and bondage and then being brought into a world filled with idolatry, adultery, theft, and murders, etc. It is important to note how the Torah connects the power of God’s presence to His glory, His righteousness, His justice, and working powerfully through the miracle of deliverance. If we are to consider the Torah is the Gospel Message which describes God delivering His people by a powerful hand from slavery and sin, bringing them to a place of Worship (Sinai), freedom, and peace, giving them His word, and dwelling in their midst, we are able to understand more clearly what Yeshua is telling us and why he says what he does according to the Apostolic Writings. Take for example what Yeshua stated in John 7.

John 7:37-397:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 7:38 ‘He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’‘ 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (NASB)

Here, Yeshua speaks of the Spirit of God as giving living waters which flows from the innermost being. John 7:39 also speaks of the Spirit of God not yet having been given. We know according to the Torah and the Tanach that the spirit of God has been given to men according to the Scriptures. What exactly are we to think about this statement? John here is speaking in a broader sense, of the Spirit being given to all of those who call upon the name of Yeshua seeking the Spirit of our Father in heaven to come and dwell in his/her heart. This is a Torah centric concept, of seeking the Lord God of Israel to work powerfully to deliver us, and then come and dwell in our midst (in our heart). John 7:39 also speaks of the giving of the Spirit of God being connected to Yeshua being glorified. Remember how we are told in the Scriptures how the Son glorifies the Father in heaven. (John 14:13) Yeshua is glorified when he was raised from the dead. This too is a Torah centric concept with the idea of the Lord dwelling in the midst of His people being coupled to the power of God’s presence to deliver His people by His mighty hand. (Parashat Shemot and Va’era) The Spirit dwelling in our midst (inside of us) gives us power to overcome this world, or said in another way, “being set free from bondage.” Yeshua goes on to say the following in John 14:15-21.

John 14:15-2114:15 ‘If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 14:16 ‘I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 14:17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 14:18 ‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 14:19 ‘After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 14:20 ‘In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 14:21 ‘He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.’ (NASB)

Here Yeshua connects obeying the mitzvot (commandments) to the love of God. The Word of God in the Torah, according to this week’s Torah portion (Parashat Bo) connects the power of God to deliver His people to His living in their midst. For such people, they are called to live according to His commands. Yeshua says that it is in these things that we know him and our Father in heaven. His connecting our love to the mitzvot causes Yeshua to ask our Father in heaven to send His Spirit to each of us who ask. In John 16 Yeshua continues to say the following:

John 16:1-1516:1 ‘These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. 16:2 ‘They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. 16:3 ‘These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. 16:4 ‘But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. 16:5 ‘But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 16:6 ‘But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 16:7 ‘But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 16:8 ‘And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 16:10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 16:11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. 16:12 ‘I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 16:13 ‘But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 16:14 ‘He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 16:15 ‘All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. (NASB)

Again we find here Yeshua reiterating the idea after his being glorified (resurrected) that he will send the Holy Spirit of God to those who have faith. Notice how this is consistent with what we are being taught in the Torah. The Torah connects the power of God’s presence to His glory, His righteousness, His justice, and working powerfully through the miracle of deliverance. In this case, the power of God in the Resurrection leads to the giving of His Spirit (in a broader sense) to those who ask. Can you see how what Yeshua is saying about his leaving and the sending of the Holy spirit is a Torah centric principle? Yeshua says that the Spirit of God 16:8 ‘… will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 16:10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 16:11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (NASB) Those who love God will live by faith (i.e. be faithful), and the Spirit of God will speak to those who live by faith and faithfulness. In the promises of God to Abraham, the Lord tells Abraham and his sons that this land (Canaan) with many nations will be given to them and therefore he is to sojourn in the land. The Lord also Promised in Bereshit / Genesis 12 (Parashat Lech Lecha) that all of the nations will be blessed in His seed. Notice how Rashi describes the land of canaan in relation to the nations that dwell therein.

Rashi on Exodus 13:5 Part 1אל ארץ הכנעני וגו׳ TO THE LAND OF THE CANAANITE — And although it enumerates here only the five peoples, all the seven nations are implied (Mekhilta d’Rabbi Yishmael 13:5:1) for all are included in the generic term Canaanite, although there was one of the races of Canaan which had no other name than that of Canaanite (whilst the other races had, beside the generic name Canaanite, some special designation as Hittite etc: hence under the term Canaanite one may understand either the one race bearing this name or any of the other races. Here, therefore, the introductory word הכנעני alludes to the particular tribe so called and to the two others included in this generic term, or it may allude to three tribes included in the generic term. In either case we get the “seven peoples of Canaan”).

Here Rashi is answering the question of why the seven nations are enumerated and Moshe included Canaan among them. Rashi states that it is not necessary for Canaan to be mentioned in order to include other nations. The reason Canaan was mentioned and including these other nations was to make it clear that all of these nations were included in the title of Canaanite.

The reason this is so important is because these things are related to the power of God to deliver people, and the giving of His Word in covenant relationship. The Apostle Paul wrote that believers, both Jewish and Gentile, have received the adoption as sons, and not just as the sons of Abraham, but also as the sons of God. This happens when we place our faith in Yeshua the Messiah, and bind ourselves to him and his faithfulness, (meaning that we are striving for these things in our lives) the Lord sends His spirit into our lives to empower us to have faith and to be faithful as Paul wrote saying “God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts…” (Galatians 4:6) This is the source of the concept of having Yeshua in our hearts and Yeshua’s statement in John 14:20 ‘In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (NASB) The Hebraic idiom of the “heart” is not about the organ that pumps our blood, but as the place of the seat of our intellect, the mind, the place of reason and the source of our personal will. This is the same concept being communicated in the Shema (Devarim / Deuteronomy 6:4-6) which states וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ … וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם “you shall love the Lord with all your heart… these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” This is to say, the commandments of God are to be in a person’s mind, his thoughts, and are to be meditated upon, because of our love for our Father in heaven. Paul wrote that the Spirit of God is sent forth into the heart of the believer, and that this Spirit cries out from within the believer as “Abba Father!” In the Greek text, we see a transliteration of the word Abba in order to emphasize the significance of our relationship with God as literally having His Spirit dwelling within us such that we call Him “Daddy.” This explains why Paul brought the Aramaic word literally into the Greek text as a transliteration.

Nachmanides writes saying,

It demonstrates that G’d communicates with chosen individuals and reveals His secrets to them. By doing such things on occasion, the truth of the Torah is perpetuated, and this is why the Torah wrote in connection with such advertised miracles:למען תדע כי אני ה’ בקרב הארץ “in order that you will realize that I the Lord am active on earth.” (Exodus 8,18) This disabuses people who believe that historical and other events on earth are the result of pure chance. In Exodus 9,29 למען תדע כי לה’ הארץ, the Torah tells us that the miracles that are about to occur will demonstrate ownership of the earth by G’d, rebutting those who claim that the universe preceded the existence of G’d. G’d created the universe out of “nothing,” i.e. He provided matter, without which there could not be a material universe. Finally, the Torah quotes G’d saying: למען תדע כי אין כמוני, “in order that you should know that there is No One like Me.” (Exodus 9,14)

As the Gospel Message is being worked out in the Torah text, Moshe emphasizes the importance of the events that are taking place saying, Shemot / Exodus 13:3 … ‘Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. (NASB, ג וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-הָעָם זָכוֹר אֶת-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר יְצָאתֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיא יְהוָֹה אֶתְכֶם מִזֶּה וְלֹא יֵאָכֵל חָמֵץ:) Moshe explains the importance of the powerful deliverance God has performed here setting one free from slavery and bondage, entering into a covenant relationship with God, and establishing this time as a time of renewal (New Year) as the biblical beginning of months with the festival of Passover. The idea of the deliverance of God and avoiding leaven has deep spiritual meaning. The reason this is so significant is because the departure of Israel from bondage in Egypt is symbolic of an individual leaving the bondage of a sinful life. As the Rabbis say, “By doing such things on occasion, the truth of the Torah is perpetuated, and this is why the Torah wrote in connection with such advertised miracles:למען תדע כי אני ה’ בקרב הארץ “in order that you will realize that I the Lord am active on earth.” (Exodus 8,18)” The significance of the commands, as Yeshua describes as being a part of the love of God, is how God provided us with His word, the commandments, whereby we are to live out in our lives which are designed to keep alive within us the memory of the lessons learned not only by Pharaoh but also by the Jewish people at the time. These lessons are not only in learning about the kindness of God, but also of who we are as God’s people. This is so we do not become assimilated with the world. The rabbis say “the people who become assimilated, are those who are outwardly and inwardly indistinguishable from its host nation.” The basic lesson is to learn what it constitutes as our perception of what we are truly about and what ultimately is our purpose in life? These things teach us how Yeshua is the Messiah of God, Yeshua taught Torah, and its practical application for our lives as the people of God! Because of these things, we all must be engaged in some manner of service to the Lord. The rabbis say “even if such service is indirect, such as earning a living in order to honor the Shabbat by eating better quality food, and wearing better quality clothes. etc.” In Yeshua’s teaching, he raised the bar saying our service must include a righteous life (fruit of the spirit) and that he will send God’s Spirit to help us to do so. It is by the Spirit of God that we attain the desire to serve the Creator. Our continued existence is bound up in remaining faithful to the covenant of God. This begins by our faith in Yeshua the Messiah! What follows then is how our mode of conduct must be a living testimony to the existence and benevolent interest of God dwelling in the midst of His people. This is the Gospel Message and it is to be proclaimed to all the world for the glory of God!

Duane D. Miller received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Akron Ohio. He is currently a Chemical Engineering Researcher.
Duane’s research expertise has focused upon functional materials development for the control, conversion, and release of process gases in Energy production technologies. His R&D interests include computational chemistry, developing novel technologies for converting biomass to fuels and studying their fundamental interactions during the chemical conversion process. His past experience includes sorbent development for pre- and post-combustion CO2 and SO2 capture, selective absorption of H2S from methane streams, O2 capture for oxy-fuel combustion, photocatalytic reduction of alcohols, NOx reduction catalysis, the development of oxygen carriers to combust fossil fuels (CH4 and coal) for the chemical looping combustion processes, and the extraction of rare earth elements using patent pending sorbents. His research expertise has focused on operando-characterization using Infrared, Raman, and UV-Vis spectroscopy to observe the nature of the catalytic active sites and reaction intermediates under realistic reaction conditions, allowing direct correlation of molecular/electronic structures with catalyst performance during Gas-Solid / Liquid-Solid Adsorption and Photocatalytic Processes with real time online analysis of reaction products using ICP-MS and mass spectrometry. His current work involves a multi-disciplinary approach to developing, understanding, and improving the catalytic gasification of coal and methane, high temperature chemical looping combustion, and the catalytic decomposition and gasification of biomass and coal using novel microwave reactor.​
He has been studying the Hebrew Scriptures and the Torah for 20+ years and sharing what he has learned. The studies developed for MATSATI.COM are freely to be used by everyone, to God be the Glory!